The Bitcoin network has just reached 20 million mined coins, leaving just one million Bitcoin to be mined over the next century.ย
โThe market is about to experience something new: A global asset with almost no new supply left,โ Energy Co managing partner David Eng said in an X post on Sunday.
On average, about 450 new Bitcoins are mined each day at current rates. This rate halves roughly every four years as a result of the Bitcoin halving. With just 1 million Bitcoin supply left, the last Bitcoin is set to be mined around 2140.ย
Bitcoin’s finite supply offers โpredictable rulesโ
Bitcoin mining company Elektron Energy CEO Raphael Zagury told Cointelegraph the level of clarity around Bitcoinโs supply is โunprecedented.โ
โThe issuance schedule is transparent decades into the future. Humans value predictable rules, especially when it comes to money,โ Zagury said.
โThe one million countdown reinforces everything that’s unique about Bitcoin,โ added crypto exchange Swyftx portfolio manager Tommy Rogulj.ย
โIt is a hard-capped, permissionless, and neutral bearer asset operating on a transparent supply curve that cannot be expanded like fiat currencies. This matters in a world that is increasingly succumbing to conflict and tech-driven uncertainty.โ
In December, asset management firm Grayscale Investments said that a โdigital money system with transparent, predictable, and ultimately scarce supply is a simple idea, but it has rising appeal in todayโs economy due to fiat currency tail risks.โ
โNon-event, no impactโ on BTCโs price: Crypto exec
However, crypto analysts were not convinced the recent milestone would affect Bitcoinโs price.
โAlready priced in, markets know the supply growth rate (inflation rate) of BTC with certainty, and it’s already lower than gold,โ Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards told Cointelegraph. โI think it’s a non-event, no impact.โ
Zagury shares a similar view to Edwards. โI donโt think the milestone alone moves price in the short term,โ Zagury said, adding that โliquidity and macro still dominate.โ
Related: Bitcoin drops 2% as oil prices surge on energy shortage fears
โBut long term, scarcity plus predictable policy is a powerful combination. Over time, markets tend to reward systems people can trust,โ he said.
Bitcoin traded at $68,670 at the time of publication, down around 19% in the past year, according to CoinMarketCap.
What happens once Bitcoin supply stops?ย
One of the biggest questions among Bitcoiners is what happens once the last Bitcoin is mined in 2140, with some worried that the networkโs security could suffer, as miners will no longer be incentivized by new coins.ย
It is understood that at that point, Bitcoinโs model will shift to transaction fees to incentivize miners to continue securing the network, though there are some concerns that it could lead to higher transaction fees.
Magazine: The debate over Bitcoinโs four-year cycle is over: Benjamin Cowen
